


nuts about you

by gay_relations



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, allergy au, sometimes one baby gay panics and makes up a nut allergy to sit with the cute new girl, there will be a part two, this is silly and fluffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:22:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28719585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gay_relations/pseuds/gay_relations
Summary: “Would you.. wanna sit with me at lunch?”“I’d love that!” She paused, suddenly remembering something. “But I have to sit at the allergy free table. I’m allergic to peanuts.”“Oh, me too,” Alyssa blurted out.“Really? That’s great! Well, I mean it’s not great that you have an allergy but it’s great that we can sit together.”Alyssa strained a smile. “Perfect! We will sit together. At the nut free table.”or: baby Alyssa makes up an allergy so she can sit with emma at lunch
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	nuts about you

**Author's Note:**

> oh hello! she lives! mostly! honestly, most of this has been sitting in a draft since April. i wanted to get back into writing (mostly because so many angels have been commenting on old fics and making me miss it. thanks, sweet angels 💜) with a one shot instead of just jumping back into my baby summer au so this felt right! 
> 
> if you’re wondering why something as silly as an allergy au exists, you can thank (or blame) the lovely spc_writes!

Nothing about school particularly interested Alyssa Greene. Kindergarten had been fun, but they got to play more than anything so what wasn’t there to love? However, she soon learned that the older you got, the less fun school became - especially with a mother constantly applying pressure to be the best and do it all. That year, she was entering third grade and less enthused about it than ever. Same immature classmates, same tauntingly boring walls, and same desks whose stability was questionable at best. It was safe to say Alyssa was dreading the new school year.

But five minutes into her teacher giving the standard first-day-of-school speech, the door opened and a gawky blonde burst through. She looked thoroughly lost and impossibly cute with her wide eyes and shallow breath. “Uh, is this room 209?”

The question was answered with an overly-enthusiastic, “Yes!”

It wasn’t until all eyes were suddenly on her that Alyssa realized she was the one that answered. Her cheeks were on fire as she sunk down into her chair. 

“It is,” the teacher answered, prompting the girl to step in and walk to the front of the room. She handed the teacher a note. Reading it first, the teacher motioned to an empty seat in the back. Disappointment swelled in Alyssa’s chest as the blonde walked past her to the opposite side of the room. “Class, please welcome Emma Nolan. She’s new to Edgewater this year.”

Emma gave an awkward wave as she looked around at her new classmates. Alyssa’s heart fluttered and she found herself waving back when Emma’s eyes met hers. Although she couldn’t prove it, she would’ve sworn she saw Emma’s smile brighten in that moment. Or maybe she just hoped it had.

Alyssa wasn’t sure what was compelling her but every chance she could, she stole a glimpse back at the blonde. 9 out of 10 times Alyssa looked, she was doodling away in her notebook and it only drew her to the girl even more. Something about her felt ethereal, enchanting - like exactly what Alyssa needed to be excited about school again. 

Whatever was calling Alyssa to sneak glances at Emma was also strong enough to carry her over to her desk when the class broke for lunch. She stood there for a while, Emma so lost in her drawing she didn’t notice Alyssa. It wasn’t until Alyssa cleared her throat that she finally got Emma’s attention, but not before causing her to jump slightly and make a rogue mark through the doodle she had been so focused on.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry!” Alyssa blurted.

“It’s okay,” Emma assured her with a gentle smile, looking back at her work. “It’s cooler that way.” 

Alyssa tilted her head to the side, observing what “it” even was. “Is that… a gnome?”

“Yep,” Emma answered, beaming up at Alyssa. “His name’s Norman and that’s his best friend Reginald. He’s a caterpillar.” She paused, her brows scrunching before her face lit back up again. “And that mark can be a bolt of magic from an evil witch. If Norman can’t find a way to reverse the spell, he’ll be frozen into nothing more than a garden decoration for the rest of eternity.”

Alyssa watched in wonder as Emma got lost creating an entire new world for Norman. Alyssa didn’t have any siblings or cousins to play pretend with and her friends were usually more interested in dress up, so Alyssa found Emma’s imagination entirely mesmerizing.

“Oh,” Emma suddenly stopped, shoulders slumping and eyes dropping down. She fiddled with the corner of her paper as she said, “Sorry, I was rambling. My parents say I do that a lot. I didn’t mean to bore you. Don’t worry about the drawing.”

“You’re anything but boring,” Alyssa assured her, mind still a little hazy. 

Emma shyly lifted her head. “I don’t know…”

“Honestly, you’re not. Actually, I’d love to hear more about Norman. Would you.. wanna sit with me at lunch?”

“I’d love that!” She paused, suddenly remembering something. “But I have to sit at the allergy free table. I’m allergic to peanuts.”

“Oh, me too,” Alyssa blurted out.

“Really? That’s great! Well, I mean it’s not great that you have an allergy but it’s great that we can sit together.”

Alyssa strained a smile. “Perfect! We will sit together. At the nut free table.”

“Awesome! Let me just pack up my stuff and we can walk over together.”

As Emma began putting her stuff away, Alyssa’s heart sped up. “Um, no, I can’t. I mean, I’ll have to meet you there. I have to take… something to the office first, but I’ll be quick.” She held back a groan. Why was she such a terrible liar?

“Okay…” Emma said hesitantly, slightly confused. But then she flashed Alyssa another smile. “See you in a bit!”

Alyssa waved awkwardly and waited till Emma was around the corner before letting out a breath. She hurriedly walked to the office, guilt of what she was about to do already bubbling up inside her. 

To say Alyssa was a rule follower would be putting it nicely. To say Alyssa was a thrall to authority would be more accurate. When her mother wasn’t watching her, she could constantly hear the reminder that God was, and she honestly wasn’t sure whose wrath she feared more. 

So even while what Alyssa was about to do was practically harmless, she couldn’t help the mix of nerves and adrenaline crashing like waves through her chest. 

Her heart was racing as she entered the office, offering the secretary at the front desk a polite smile before avoiding her gaze. She made her way to the cubbies, searching them before grabbing what she was looking for with a shaky hand. With a high-pitched thank you, Alyssa scurried out of the office and to her next destination: the bathroom. She looked under the stalls to make sure she was alone, entering the last one. Later she might realize how silly it was to check, as if someone might hear the deceitful scrawl of her pen, but in the moment it felt necessary, clever.

Taking a deep breath, she committed the crime. 

She faked her mother’s signature on a nut allergy form.

By the time she made it to the line in the cafeteria, she felt warm and her pulse continued to beat rapidly. Sure, the act of forgery had already taken place but she still had one more step of deception left. Without a word, she handed the slip to her teacher, who eyed it for a moment.

“Is this yours?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Shouldn’t you have turned this in when you started here in kindergarten?”

“Well, yes. I would have but I wasn’t allergic then.”

“This is a new allergy?”

“Um, yes. It’s a late onset peanut allergy.”

Alyssa was sure the shakiness in her voice was clear as day and her cover was blown. She’d never been a good liar. Actually, she’d never been a liar - period. In the moments of silence that followed, she held her breath, waiting for the swat team to bust in any second and take her downtown. She tried to remember anything she’d heard about prison. Would they make her eat nothing but peanuts as her punishment? Would she have to write her own signature a thousand times a day? Would she get a chance to apologize to Emma before she was taken away forever?

“Okay, I assume you know where to sit,” her teacher, handing Alyssa her lunch card.

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.” 

When Alyssa turned around and found Emma excitedly waving at her, smile bright as ever, every ounce of guilt and worry drained from her and she knew it was all worth it. She waited impatiently in line to get her lunch before bolting to sit with the new student.

“Hey,” Emma chirped as Alyssa sat down next to her. “Everything okay? You looked a little sick when you first got in line.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Probably just hungry.”

“Good thing it’s lunchtime then!” Emma held out her sandwich to Alyssa, who eyed it curiously but lifted hers up as well before Emma bumped them together saying, “Cheers!”

“Cheers,” Alyssa echoed back with a giggle, a sound that caused Emma’s smile to grow even more.

They were quiet for a bit as they both ate. Alyssa had a hundred things she wanted to ask Emma, a hundred things she wanted to listen to Emma talk about. But everytime she looked at the girl, her tongue felt too heavy to speak words. So instead she settled for the comfortable silence and warm company.

As Emma finished chewing, she scanned the cafeteria. “I can’t believe we’re the only one with allergies.”

“We’re not.” 

Emma’s brows knotted. “Is there another table then? Did I sit at the wrong one?”

“No, this is the only one. Everyone else with an allergy just lies on the form so they can sit with their friends,” Alyssa explained. “We didn’t always have an isolated table for nut allergies. You see that kid over there? With the backwards baseball cap talking obnoxiously loud and usually just about himself?” Emma nodded. “That’s Nick Boomer. When his older brother, Zach, was a sixth grader here, someone triple dog dared him to eat a peanut butter sandwich even though he was allergic. Of course he couldn’t turn down a triple dog dare, so the dummy ate the whole thing. Have you ever seen Willy Wonka?”

“Yeah,” Emma said seriously, hanging on Alyssa’s every word.

“Kids who were there swear he looked just like Violet Beauregarde as they literally rolled him away.”

“Wow,” Emma breathed, her eyes wide.

“So that’s why we have a separate table. Because boys are dumb.”

Emma laughed and warmth spread through Alyssa’s chest knowing she was the one to prompt it. “Yeah, my last school didn’t separate us either. I was a little confused when I heard about it here.”

“I would have warned you if I could.”

“It’s okay. Besides, if it means getting to sit with you here, it’s totally worth it,” Emma said with great sincerity and a twinkle in her eye that made Alyssa’s heart beat a bit faster. Then her brows scrunched and she asked, “Wait a second, if you knew, why didn’t you lie on the form too?”

“Oh, um…” Alyssa’s face burned as she scrambled to answer Emma’s question. Lying to her teacher was one thing, but in that moment, looking into angelic hazel eyes, it felt impossible. “My mother takes rules very seriously.” Technically not a lie. “And like you said, now we get to stay together.”

Alyssa was relieved when Emma easily accepted her answer with a smile. 

//

The next few weeks Alyssa was still a little skittish, her deceit looming over her whenever it was time for lunch. But as soon as she was sitting next to Emma, just the two of them at their own special table, she always seemed to forget her worries. Nothing mattered but whatever conversation or world they got lost in that day - usually Norman the Gnome’s. They spent most of their lunches building his world and creating adventures for him.

One day in particular, they were so deep in a discussion about whether he should cross through an ogre’s swamp or a dragon’s cave that Alyssa nearly missed her own adversary enter the cafeteria. 

“Alyssa? Sweetie?”

Anyone else might not have heard the voice over the peal of the other children in the room, but Alyssa felt the unmistakable shudder run through her anytime her mother called for her.

Her eyes snapped to the entrance, grateful to discover her mom hadn’t seen her yet. Without much time to think, Alyssa dropped under the table, muttering an apology to Emma as she clumsily bumped into her on her way down. 

“Alyssa, what are you doing?”

“I, uh, dropped something.”

“Oh, well let me help-”

“Alyssa? Where are you, dear?” Another shudder.

Emma looked curiously at Mrs. Greene before looking back at Alyssa. “Is that lady looking for you?”

“Yes,” Alyssa said, letting out a sigh. “That’s my mother.”

“And you’re hiding from her?”

“Yes, I…” Her voice trailed off, unsure how to explain to Emma that she couldn’t let her mother see her at that table without having to explain to everyone why she lied and forged her mother’s signature. Alyssa still wasn’t quite sure of why she did any of it herself. Sure, she knew she wanted to sit next to Emma, but it was something more than that, like a force within her she couldn’t control or even explain. 

“I get it. I’d try to hide from my mom too. “ Emma looked sympathetically at her. “Here, put this on. I’ll go distract her and you can slip out to recess.” 

Alyssa took Emma’s offer - her hoodie - and slipped it on as gracefully as she could manage while crouched under the lunch table. It was warm and soft and a feeling of safety washed over her the second she put it on. “Thank you, Emma.”

“Anything for you, Lys,” she answered back, flashing her one more smile before going off to distract Alyssa’s mom, allowing her enough time to escape to the bathroom. 

//

After that day, Emma never pressed Alyssa on why she had to hide from her mom, for which Alyssa was grateful. She also never asked for the hoodie back - another moment of gratitude. She found that when she put it on, even after that day, it still filled her with the same sense of comfort and safety she felt that day - or really, whenever she was around Emma. 

Fortunately for Alyssa, she didn’t have to fake the allergy slip for the rest of their elementary years and they got two more years of their own little lunches. 

In that time, the adventures of Norman and Reginald grew into something Alyssa never thought she was capable of imagining. When it first began, Emma did most of the story and world building, but as the years went on Alyssa found a knack for it as well. Emma made it so easy for her to suspend her beliefs and expand her creativity. With Emma around, nothing felt too impossible. Alyssa figured if someone as magical as Emma could exist, gnomes and witches and dragons didn’t seem so far off.

As sixth grade came to a close, so did Norman’s final adventure. For weeks now Emma had been stressing about finding the perfect ending for him but nothing they came up with seemed satisfactory to either of them. 

“Maybe we need to take a break. Some space from it could do us some good,” Alyssa suggested as Emma ripped another page out of the notebook before crumpling it up and tossing it aside.

“Yeah, maybe,” she grumbled, tapping her pencil against the new page.

“We’ll figure it out, Em. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but we’ll figure it out. We have time.”

“Not much,” Emma said quietly. Her pencil stopped, but her gaze remained on the blank sheet.

“What does that mean?”

Emma shrugged. “The school year is almost over and next year we’ll be in junior high, where there is no separate table. You’ll be able to sit wherever you want.”

“Em, I want to be here. With you. That’s why I-” Alyssa stopped herself. 

“That’s why you what?” Emma finally looked up at Alyssa, her hazel eyes swirling with a sort of sadness and curiosity.

Alyssa chewed her lip. A part of her wanted to confess everything then and there, but as she rehearsed it in her head, it sounded so too ridiculous and Alyssa wasn’t ready to put herself in such a vulnerable place. 

Letting out a small sigh, Alyssa reached over, gently resting her hand over Emma’s, stilling the nervous twitch. With her other hand, she took the pencil away and set it down. “Having you as my lunch buddy for the past three years has been the best thing to happen to me. Even if I could choose where to sit, I’d choose right next to you. Everytime.”

Emma’s eyes flicked to their hands before returning to Alyssa’s gaze, a certain sparkle where tears threatened. “You really mean that?”

“I really do,” Alyssa said quietly, smiling softly at her. 

“Good. Because I’d choose you everytime too.” Emma tilted her head and Alyssa felt Emma’s hand twitch beneath hers. Alyssa thought for a moment Emma was going to pull hers away, but instead she turned it and laced their fingers together, causing Alyssa’s stomach to swoop and her head to go light. 

Alyssa couldn’t tear her eyes away from their hands, now intertwined. Every inch of her tingled and in that moment she thought she’d be okay if the only thing her hand ever held again was Emma’s. Her thumb smoothed over the soft, pale skin on the back of Emma’s hand, then back again, over and over. 

Finally, Alyssa looked back up to Emma with wide eyes. Smiling shyly, Emma chuckled, “I guess I got pretty lucky that of all the people who had to sit here too, it was you.”

Her ears burned and she pulled her hand away to tuck her hair behind them, mumbling, “Yeah, lucky.”

//

“I figured it out!”

The sudden outburst startled Alyssa as she was pushing her questionable lunch around on her tray. When she looked up, Emma was absolutely beaming as she slid into the seat next to Alyssa. “You did?”

“Yes! Okay, I know it’s cheesy but hear me out: Norman deserves a happy ending, a family to go home to.” Emma sets her tray to the side, rummages through her backpack, and sets her notebook in front of her. “He shouldn’t be alone anymore.”

“Definitely,” Alyssa agrees excitedly. “What exactly are you thinking?”

Flipping through some pages, she shakes her head. “Maybe a wife or something. I don’t know, but after all he’s gone through to save everyone, he at the very least should have someone when it’s all over.”

Alyssa hummed. “So like introducing someone new in the last chapter?”

“I…” Emma frowned. “Maybe that would be weird. I guess we could use a character already in it. Like maybe the witch transforms into a human when he does too.”

A noise of disapproval left Alyssa’s throat. “She was so awful. We can’t do that to him.”

“Good point.”

They both fell silent in thought. After a while, Alyssa chewed her lip and said hesitantly, “What if… Reginald turns into a human too?”

Emma’s brows knotted as she considered this. “We could. It would take ages though to go back and change his character into a girl.”

“Unless we didn’t.” Alyssa’s voice was small and quiet.

“I mean, I’m all for the importance of friendships, but I kind of got attached to the idea of him falling in love.”

“Yeah, me too. I didn’t mean... I’m just saying…” Alyssa took a deep breath. “What if his happily ever after _was_ Reginald?”

Emma brows tightened before her expression slowly shifted from confusion to realization. Her cheeks started to tint red as she uttered a soft, “Oh.”

“Nevermind, that’s silly. And, uh, gross. Forget I said anything.”

“Yeah, totally gross.” A pause. “But also…”

“Yeah?” Alyssa perked back up.

“Maybe it’s not?”

Alyssa nodded. “Maybe it’s okay?”

“Maybe it’s not a big deal?”

“Maybe it’s even kind of sweet?”

They stared at each, the air swirling around them with more weight than either anticipated. 

Alyssa wasn’t even sure where the idea had come from. She’d never considered it before, but in that moment, sitting there with Emma, something about Norman and Reginald’s friendship turning into more seemed like the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Cool,” Emma breathed. “Besides, it’s not like anyone will see it besides us.”

A small, unexpected pang shot through Alyssa’s heart. “Yeah, right. Nobody else will know.”

Emma nodded seriously. “Except us. We’ll know.”

Alyssa smiled softly. “Yeah, we will.”

“And that’s enough for me,” Emma said thoughtfully. “Is that… enough for you?”

Alyssa looked at Emma. Looked at her soft skin, her hazel eyes, her unruly curls. She looked at the lopsided smile where rogue ketchup decorated the corners of her lips. Years of happiness and belonging washed over her as she answered, “It’s more than enough.” 

“Good,” Emma replied with her trademark goofy smile. 

//

The final day of school came around faster than Alyssa would’ve liked, which almost made her laugh. She used to be so excited about breaks, but ever since Emma came into her life, Alyssa dreaded them. She would miss their lunches more than she could ever explain. 

Alyssa got to their table first, which was unusual. Emma would normally be there already, eagerly waiting for Alyssa to take her seat next to her so she could slide over half of whatever sweet treat her grandma had sent her that week. Alyssa’s heart sank a bit as she subconsciously noted each second they were missing of their last lunch together, but as long as Emma was okay that was all that mattered. She drummed her fingers on the table, not even bothering to begin lunch without her friend. 

After a few minutes, a blonde blur came whirring towards her, nearly tripping on the way as she waved something over her head. 

“Alyssa! It’s done! It’s finished! It’s perfect!” Emma exclaimed between breaths.

“It is?” Alyssa replied enthusiastically, instantly matching Emma’s energy. 

Emma plopped a thick novel on the table between them as she sat down. “It is! Look at it. It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful and it’s ours.”

Alyssa picked up their creation, running her fingers over the cover. Big letters in the center said “The Adventures of Norman and Reginald Vol 1”. Surrounding it were incredible doodles of characters and settings from their story. But Alyssa’s favorite part was at the bottom, where neatly printed letters read “Created by Alyssa Greene and Emma Nolan”. Tears threatened to rain as she ran her fingers over it. They did this, together. Alyssa never dreamed she could do something like this, but with Emma, everything felt possible. Shaking her head, Alyssa looked up at Emma with pure awe. “Emma, this is incredible. You’re incredible.”

“ _We’re_ incredible,” Emma replied, playfully nudging Alyssa and shining an impossibly perfect smile. “We make a good team.”

Excitement swirled in Alyssa. “We really do. I can’t wait to see what we make next year!”

A gentle blush spread across Emma’s cheeks as she shyly ducked her head. “Next year?” There was a certain hopefulness in her question. 

“Next year. If you’re up for it.” Alyssa paused before inching her hand next to Emma’s on the table, stretching her pinky to gently brush against Emma’s. Alyssa held her breath, only daring to breathe again when Emma returned the gesture, locking their pinkies together. Gaining some confidence, Alyssa continued. “I meant it when I said I want to sit with you next year too. And the year after that and the year after that. I like our lunches. A lot.” 

“Yeah, me too.” Emma’s voice was quiet but sincere. 

Neither of them pulled their hand away for the rest of the lunch, and Alyssa’s mind couldn’t stop wandering to all the future lunches life had in store for them.

//

The school year ended and Emma and Alyssa could not have been happier with the way the Adventures of Norman and Reginald finished out. It pained Alyssa that they couldn’t share it with everyone, but she felt better when she remembered that meant her and Emma had their own little secret that was just theirs. 

They promised each other to keep in touch over the summer, but between camps for Alyssa and Emma being away at her grandparents, it was nearly impossible.

The first day of middle school couldn’t come faster for Alyssa. As much as she didn’t care for school, anything was better than the strict schedule of church and cheer camps her mother kept her busy with all summer. More than anything though, Alyssa couldn’t wait to see Emma. 

Really though, she couldn’t wait. She looked around frantically, searching the sea of students for blonde hair and hazel eyes. She bumped into a few students but she didn’t care - she just needed to see Emma.

“Isn’t that awesome, Alyssa?”

“Huh?” Alyssa replied in autopilot to her new friend Kaylee Klein, who she met at one of her camps over the summer. Her eyes continued to search but she spared a bit of attention for the conversation.

“I said my mom called the school and made sure you, me and Shelby have as many classes together as possible. I think everything matches up besides foreign language, since you just had to take French apparently.” Kaylee scoffed. “Everyone knows Spanish is the easy A. Right, Shelby?”

Kaylee looked expectantly at the final of their trio, Shelby Gonzales. “Obvio, súper fácil para ti, porque al final terminaré haciendo todo el trabajo.”

After staring at her for a second, Kaylee plastered a smile on her face, turned back to Alyssa and said “See? Or should I say _sí_?” Alyssa watched as Shelby suppressed a groan before giving Kaylee an encouraging nod. “Oh well, I guess one hour apart won’t be so bad.”

“Well, two. I’m sitting with a friend for lunch.” Alyssa did her best to sound chill, but just the thought of having lunch with Emma again made her stomach flip. 

“Alyssa,” Kaylee said with an urgency that grabbed Alyssa’s complete attention. “Today is the first day of school. It is the most important day for us to sit together. Who you sit with and where you sit can define the next two years. We _have_ to sit together.”

Alyssa groaned. “Fine, but we have to save a seat for Emma.”

“Yeah, sure. We can save a seat for your friend.” 

// 

Lunch rolled around Alyssa was practically buzzing. Emma hadn’t been in any of her AM classes, but lunch was a guarantee that she would see her. 

Or so Alyssa thought. She waited and waited, not daring to touch her lunch in case she missed Emma walking into the lunch room while she snuck a bite of whatever dry salad her mom packed for her. 

But Emma never came. 

The ache in Alyssa’s heart that started the second she said goodbye to Emma at the end of the school year and continued to grow with each passing day felt as if it would burst any second now. She did her best to shrug it off, holding onto hope that they might have an afternoon class together.

But that didn’t happen either.

It would take a few days, but eventually Alyssa accepted that Emma transferred schools again. 

She wondered how long it would take to accept that she might never see Emma again.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! part two will be them in high school and it’s all planned out so hopefully I will actually stick to it and write it. kudos and comments are always appreciated 💕


End file.
